


What You Carry

by Diary



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Genre: Baked Goods, Bechdel Test Pass, Birth Control, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), Friendship/Love, Late Night Conversations, Mentioned Peter Parker, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Bruce Banner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-09 05:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18631540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diary/pseuds/Diary
Summary: AU. In which Bruce reaches forgiveness or something close to it in regards to Wanda. Complete.





	What You Carry

“Dr Banner, Miss Maximoff wishes to speak to you. Shall I tell her to leave?”

Startled, Bruce looks up from the formulas he was reading. “Wanda Maximoff? Are the other Avengers all okay?”

“All of the ones currently on Earth are safe and accounted for, doctor, and there’s been no news one way or another of those off-planet. Miss Maximoff is here regarding a personal matter.”

There are 250 employees assigned to this building, but he doesn’t know how many work what shifts. “Is it an emergency?”

“No, doctor.”

“How many people are currently in and around the building? Excluding her and I.”

“76.”

“Have one of the bots escort her here and restrict all access to this floor to everyone without Avenger clearance.”

“Done. Miss Maximoff is on her way.”

...

When Maximoff comes in, he realises with a groan he should have been more specific about _which_ bot was to escort her.

“Give her back her wallet and anything else you took from her, Graceless.”

Beeping unpleasantly and flashing harsh lights, Graceless does.

“Now, leave us alone. I’ll be fine.”

He’ll admit: Graceless running over her feet is something he should have known about to stop, but thankfully, other than an unamused look, Maximoff doesn’t react. He supposes Tony’s drilled into her that she actually would regret harming any of his bots.

Once the door’s closed, Maximoff blurts out, “I need- I want to go on birth control.”

He’d tried to prepare himself for any possibility, but he never even would have considered this might be one of them.

“Okay. Uh, any doctor you go to would be bound by doctor-patient confidentiality. At least, here in America. And if you’re worried about the others possibly finding out due to insurance-”

“I don’t know how my body might respond to hormonal birth control. Because of the experiments. I don’t know if it’d even work. I’m not completely sure about non-hormonal, either.”

Him feeling incredibly stupid in this instance is something he can’t blame on her, he knows.

He takes a breath to re-centre himself. “Okay, why don’t we sit down?”

She takes one of the chairs.

“Anything to drink?”

“No, thank you.”

He sits down. “Why’ve you come to me?”

Her smile is tentative, and there’s a thread of pain when she answers, “I imagine you’re the only person who wants me to not have a child more than I do right now.”

If he had his way, she’d either be dead or locked in something like that Raft that Ross had tried to get commissioned, and yet, there’s still a pang of guilt at this.

“And I don’t want anyone to know about this right now,” she continues. “I know you hate me, but I also know you can help me and that, unless there was a good reason, you’ll respect that.”

“I might be able to help you,” he corrects. “If for some reason normal hormonal contraception doesn’t work, I might be able to develop some that will, but I can’t promise that. You might need to decide between finding a specialist or doing without.”

She nods. “I understand. If that becomes the case, I’ll decide what to do then.”

“In addition, if I do this, I won’t lie to the others. I won’t tell them, and I won’t contradict anything you decide to tell them, but if anyone asks why we’re meeting, all I’ll say is that it’s a private matter between you and I.”

“Whether you believe it or not, I wouldn’t ask you to lie, Dr Banner.”

“I can understand if you don’t want a nurse involved, but either we’d have a chaperone, or Jarvis would record each examination and store the footage until we’re both dead.”

“I understand,” she says. “I don’t object to him recording us.”

Don’t do this, he tells himself. Just offer to find someone else, and if she refuses, then, let her be on her own. Whether she wants to or not, she can always go to Steve, Romanov, or even one of the other Avengers.

“I’ll try my best to help you, Miss Maximoff. My first question is: Is there any chance you might be pregnant?”

“No. I’ve never- No.”

“Okay. When will you be ready to start?”

“I’m ready whenever. Um, I mean, here.” She puts a paper on his desk.

Picking it up, he sees it’s her college and Avenger training schedules.

“In that case, I have plans for later today, but if tomorrow’s good for you, it’s good for me.”

“Yes, that would be good. Do I need to eat anything special or not eat?”

“No, just eat, sleep, and exercise like you normally do. Try not to take any medicine unless there’s a true need.” Thinking about it, he adds, “If you take them, vitamins are fine.”

“Would two o’ clock be good?”

“In the afternoon?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, that’d be fine. I’ll have a different robot escort you, but one will be bringing you straight here when you arrive and delivering you straight outside after you leave. I’ll do a routine examination in here, and if we need to move to a full lab, we’ll work something out. Okay?”

Smiling slightly, she nods. “Thank you, Dr Banner.”

…

“Miss Maximoff has arrived early.”

He looks down at his watch. “She can come up.”

“I’ve sent Hapless to escort her. Shall I begin recording?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Jarvis.”

Saving his work, he brings the gurney out.

When she comes in, he tosses her a medical gown. “Here, change into this.”

Washing his hands, he turns, and he finds himself shocked at the sight of her in her bra with her fingers unfastening her skirt.

“In the bathroom!” He points.

Jumping, she responds, “Sorry,” and heads to it.

Once the bathroom door is closed, rubbing his head, he manages to restrain himself from groaning.

He knows there’s a possibility she didn’t know where the bathroom was or even that there was a bathroom down here. If so, there are reasons she wouldn’t ask. There are reasons why changing in the room with him present wouldn’t carry disturbing implications.

Acknowledging this doesn’t make him any more inclined to not assume the worse.

She wants to be part of the new SHIELD, and his memories of Agent Romanov wearing a pretty dress in India are still sharp. He doesn’t trust this new SHIELD to be different from the old one.

He’d really like to think both that no one would send a woman he openly hates, who, on top of this, is only twenty-two and likely still a virgin, to try to seduce him, and that she herself wouldn’t agree to such an idea or conceive of it herself.

Hearing the bathroom door reopen, he cautiously looks over, and seeing she’s in the gown, he gestures to the gurney. “I’m going to start by asking you some questions.”

She sits on it.

…

“Natasha worries about you.”

He’s yet to determine how exactly she’d react to hormonal contraception, but he has learned she’s not good with silence. From his peripheral visions, he's seen, even changed back into her normal clothes with her phone to occupy her, she’s been getting increasingly squirmy.

“I know.”

Surprise crosses her face, and coming over to where he has holographic data up, she stares at him. “That would be news to her.”

“No, it’s not.”

“She told me that Tony isn’t the only one who-”

Realisation hits him. “Oh, I think I understand. There’s been a misunderstanding, Miss Maximoff. Take a step back, please.”

She does, and he moves a graph. “Agent Romanov is very worried about what the other guy might do one day. She’s terrified of him. What she thinks of me, it’s not affectionate, but I doubt she’s as worried about me as she is him.”

“No,” is her firm, defiant response. “She worries about you the same way Tony does.”

“Yeah? Tony’s my best friend. I was going to be a groomsman at his wedding. Agent Romanov and I have successfully worked together in the past, but the last time we had any contact was two months ago when she called Tony and I answered his phone. So, how’s that work?”

He might think her glare was cute if he could see her the way he sees most twenty-year-old kids.

“If some of the Avengers are your close friends or family, now, good for you. Tony’s the only one I consider a genuine friend. I’m friendly with Steve, Clint, and Thor, and I care about Peter. The rest of them, including you and her, I’ll try my best to work with you when it’s necessary to protect innocent people from extraordinary threats.”

“Do you hate her the same way you hate me?”

“No. I don’t hate her at all.”

“Good.” She goes back to the gurney.

…

“I can’t give you any guarantees, but there’s every indication that hormonal contraception should prevent pregnancy with only the potential side effects non-genetically modified women have to worry about.”

She lets out a small sigh. “Could you prescribe it for me?”

“Possibly.” He sits down. “But we should probably talk about exactly what kind you want. Unless you already know.”

“Aside from the fact I don’t like taking pills, no, I don’t.”

Tapping his tablet, the list he made pops into the air. “If you want an IUD, you’ll need to find someone else. It requires vaginal insertion.”

“Likely no to it and the vaginal ring, then.”

“For patient safety, the IUD needs to be inserted by a medical professional, but the ring can usually be inserted by the patient themselves.”

“What are the chances of the ring falling out?”

…

“Are you sure this is what you want,” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Okay.” Writing the script, he hands it to her. “If you start experiencing any serious side effects, either contact me immediately, or have another Avenger find you a doctor. And remember, if you engage in any form of sexual contact, unless you’re sure the other person has no STDs, always use condoms and/or dental dams. If you end up having unprotected sex, come to me or another doctor as soon as possible to get started on PEP.”

“Thank you, Dr Banner.”

“Don’t mention it.”

He can see her hesitating.

“I don’t understand how you can help someone you hate in such a way.”

“You and your brother hated us, Tony especially, but you worked with us.”

“We realised we were wrong. I’ll always struggle with the loss of our parents, but I understand he was trying to save people like them and us. People misused the weapons he designed for that purpose.”

“Well,” he takes off his glasses, “I guess that’s the difference between us. General Ross has tried to imprison me multiple times, made a life with the woman I love impossible, and badly hurt other people I care deeply about. If he died today, I’d drink a toast to his death.”

“But in the future, if I need to work with him again, I will. The same way I would with you. That’s what being an Avenger is about. Protecting innocent people, the world, regardless of personal feelings and issues. Making any sacrifice necessary. If you don’t get to a point where you can do that, then, I’m not sure how long you’ll stay an Avenger.”

She shrugs. “I guess we’ll see. Goodbye, Dr Banner.”

Hapless begins leading her to the door, and heading over to the gurney, he pauses when the ground trembles under his feet.

“The building is under attack, doctor. Initiating emergency protocols.”

Cursing, he turns, and seeing she’s still there, he hurries over. “What are you waiting for?”

“The door won’t open.”

Seeing lights beginning to emit from her fingers, he says, “No! This whole suite is designed to react violently if you try to force entry, and unfortunately, in this case, it’ll read you trying to open the door that way as such. Follow me.”

Flying close to him, she flings a flying chair away as they make their way across the shaking, tumbling room.

Getting to the escape pods, he grabs her hand, and pressing it against the scanner, he feels a little calmer when it opens. “Inside.” Seeing Hapless has followed them over, he lightly kicks it. “Ball mode.”

“What about you?”

Just then, the gurney hits him, and he grits his teeth at the feeling of the other guy pressing even closer to the surface. “Oh, no, I’m staying here.” Picking up Hapless, he nods. “Go.”

When she gets inside, he puts Hapless in, too, before moving away.

Shutting its door, the pod shoots underground.

“Other Avengers contacted, Jarvis?”

“Yes. Agents Barton and Romanov are en route, and Sir is seeing about leaving Malaysia.”

“Good.” Digging out the paralytic, he says, “Whether he likes it or not, I’m having a cryo-chamber installed here.”

Making his way against the shaking ground, he goes into the bedroom suite, and getting to the empty closet, he lies on the floor. “Lockdown, Jarvis.”

The door closes, and he hears the deadlocks activating. “Done, doctor.”

Taking a deep breath, he injects himself.

“There are casualities, doctor, but all employees have evacuated the building with their lives intact and conscious.”

Every time he’s been paralysed, he thinks he’ll be more used to it the next time, but already, this is shaping up to be one of the worst times.

He wonders about the animals and Tony’s other bots.

There’s no sounds coming from outside, and he’s not sure if this means whatever’s happening has stopped, or if Jarvis is muting the sounds.

Under his prickly skin, the ground is still trembling.

“Agents Barton and Romanov have arrived and are coordinating with emergency response teams, Dr Banner.”

What about Maximoff, he wishes he could ask. Has she made it back to the compound, yet?

…

Light suddenly floods his senses, and he doesn’t know how long it’s been.

“I have eyes on Banner,” Romanov’s voice says, and she comes into view.

…

In the compound, Graceless gently applies cream to his back.

“Thank you.”

Her chirp is less energetic than usual.

“Wanda isn’t happy,” Romanov comments.

“You say that as if I should care.”

Despite his best effort, he winces as he puts a shirt on, and further noises emit from Graceless.

“I don’t think you should, and I know you don’t. But I worry about her.”

“That makes two of us. Just for different reasons.” He sips the tea Graceless brought him.

Shifting slightly against the wall, she studies him. “Do you really believe she’ll be a liability to the Avengers initiative someday?”

“Not anymore or less than any of us. Look,” he rubs his temples against the stress-headache forming, “could we cut the crap and get to whatever or wherever you’re setting this conversation to go?”

“Most of us have done bad things. Have pasts full of regrets. Some of us have this world itself largely against us. It’s not good for us to have those we need to depend on to fight with sharing such opinions.”

He doesn’t bother repressing his scoff. “Tell me, you tried talking Tony down from his hatred of Sergeant Barnes?”

“No. She didn’t kill your parents.”

It takes effort to stand. “No, she didn’t.”

He represses the urge to add, if she had killed his father- well, he definitely wouldn’t hate her the way Tony does Barnes.

“I can’t find exact statistics. Tony might be responsible for that. But I wonder, how many parents did the other guy kill when she messed with my head? How many pregnant women and new or expectant fathers? Babies? Little kids and teenagers and twenty-two-year-olds like she is now? Elderly and sick who never had a chance?”

She’s quiet, and he goes over to the screens. “Despite what the American media is trying so hard to sell, we both know that most of us are never going to be friends, Agent Romanov, let alone family. If she doesn’t understand that and you truly care about her or, at least, about the initiative, you’ll help her understand it.”

“She does.” Coming over, she sighs. “You might not believe this, but I promise I’m not playing any games. She’s our future, Dr Banner. She hurt me, too. She hurt all of us. The world was almost destroyed in part because of her actions.”

“Thirteen years ago, her parents were killed in front of her and her brother. They grew up with a war going on. Angry, hurt, and scared, and they made bad choices. But just like we all did, when she learned better, she became better.”

“Good for her. Good for us. I’m sure all the people you killed as an assassin, all those countries, including mine, that your espionage harmed, all the family and friends of your victims, are going, hey, she’s a good guy now. The people who survived the other guy and Tony’s weapons, same with them. Obviously, me, Tony, and Maximoff herself are the outliers.”

“I want better for her,” she quietly says. “All the pain we carry around, some of it, she doesn’t have a choice but to carry, too. I once said we’re both monsters, and the honest truth is, I don’t know if I was right or not. When I look at her, though, I see a kind, passionate young woman who made some terrible mistakes she’ll never fully live down, and I don’t want her to be like us more than she has to.”

The thing is, he does believe she’s sincere.

More than this, in some ways, he can understand.

Poor Peter has been through some heavy stuff for someone so young, but thank God, Peter’s otherwise a normal, nice kid. He doesn’t have death on his hands.

He probably will someday, and God, the thought of this-

Taking a deep breath, he tries to will the knotted feeling in his stomach away.

“Give that to her the best you can, then, but I’m telling you right now, trying to get me to change how I feel towards her is pointless. I see a sociopathic monster who might be even better than you at manipulation. If I’m wrong, I’ll die wrong. As much as you want to protect her, if she can’t do what we can and work with people who hate us and who we hate, she doesn’t belong, and even the others who like and care about her would agree with that.”

The door chimes.

Romanov goes over to open it, and he sees it’s Clint and Maximoff.

“Hey, this one’s coming home with us for the weekend,” Clint says. “But first, we need to stop at CVS and get her some jelly beans.”

“I’ll get them,” she insists.

And likely get her prescription filled, he knows.

It’s a little bit of a relief that he’ll be able to sleep at the compound tonight, but then- he owes her nothing, and if Clint, Romanov, and/or another Avenger convinced her to leave so that he could stay, he wishes they hadn’t.

She is the future. She’s more of an Avenger than he ever was, whatever this says about the state of the world and the initiative, and if it weren’t for the fact he once promised an uncharacteristically vulnerable Tony that he’d give running a Stark facility a try for, at least, a year, he’d have left with WHO or Doctors Without Borders as soon as it was decided she was going to be an Avenger instead of a war criminal.

“Any idea who and why the building was attacked,” he asks.

Clint sighs. “There have been a rise in groups who hate mutants and Inhumans. We think it might have been one of the more radicalised ones, but we’re not sure what faction or if you or Wanda or both were the target.”

He can’t help but roll his eyes. “Okay, yes, I know neither of us exactly qualifies as strictly human, but do those idiots know that neither of us have either the X-Gene or Kree DNA? Isn’t that public knowledge by now? If it’s not, she can do whatever she wants, but I’m putting it out there that several humans were hurt when they attacked the building of a person with no X-Gene and no Kree DNA!”

Maximoff is looking at him with wary eyes, and he realises she’s likely never seen him like this.

Producing a bag of dried bananas and peanuts, Romanov pats his shoulder. “Here you go, Dr Banner. I understand this was a stressful day, but eat this, and it should help.”

“Thanks.” Taking the bag, he goes back to the gurney, and sitting down, he sighs when Graceless rubs against his leg.

He pats her. “It’s alright. I know better than to expect sense from the high-profile hate groups. I’ll learn when it comes to these new ones.”

As he munches on the bananas and peanuts, Romanov smiles at the still uneasy-looking Maximoff. "Hey, let’s get home. It’s been a stressful day for all of us. After we get your jelly beans, how’s fixing some leftover spaghetti sound?”

“That sounds good,” she answers.

They lead her out, and he hears, “But should-”

“No, kiddo,” Clint answers. “He’s fine. Tony’ll be here soon.”

…

“Hey, I brought Indian food,” Tony’s voice jolts him out of his doze.

Getting out of the chair, he wonders if being hit earlier or simple middle-age is the reason he’s so tense and sore.

Putting a gentle hand on the back of his neck, Tony looks him over before catching his eyes. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Indian, huh?”

Laughing at Tony’s half-cocky, half-fond expression, he adds, “Thanks. You find out anything new about the attack?”

“Yep.” Sighing, Tony starts getting the food out. “Some of Toomes’ old acquaintances have been less discriminatory about who they supply with the modified weapons they got from him. Rhodey’s tracked down two of them, but he’s not hopeful about getting much out of them. How’s your back?”

“I’m fine.” Easing himself back down, he continues, “But after dinner, I’m probably retaking my space in your lab for the rest of the night. I’ve had some new ideas about how to make the building better prepared next time something happens.”

Tossing him a soda, Tony responds, “You think I’m letting you have all the fun by yourself? You thinking this calls for hot chocolate, or are we breaking out the root beer floats?”

“Tony, you don’t need to-”

“No, I don’t. Since I own the building, though, and Dummy could take on Graceless if necessary, you aren’t getting rid of me.”

“Let’s stick with hot chocolate,” he says. “I know none of the animals were too badly hurt, but I was thinking, if we designed their areas to...”

…

In the morning, he’s just got done taking his shower when Jarvis says, “Doctor Banner, Sir asked me to warn you that Secretary Ross has arrived.”

“I will not jump out of the window,” he mutters before clearing his throat. “Thanks for the heads up, Jarvis.”

Getting dressed, he goes down to the lobby, and he doesn’t know why he’s surprised to see: Happy is standing between Tony and Ross, Steve looks to be holding Maximoff back, and several of the bots, including Graceless, are making unpleasant noises and flashing harsh lights.

Things are never smooth when Ross comes by.

“What’d I miss?”

“Wanda and I were just going to meet Sam for coffee,” Steve says with a clear warning squeeze on her shoulder. “Good to see you, Bruce. Can we bring you anything back?”

“Nice to see you, too, Steve. No, thanks.”

“Come on.” Guiding her towards the door, Steve quietly says, “Not worth it.”

“Hell of a situation you and Maximoff were smack dab in the middle of,” Ross comments. “What was she doing there yesterday?”

“That’s her question to answer, not mine.”

“Yeah, Happy, why don’t you escort our guest here to my office?” He shoots a contemptuous look at Ross. “Don’t touch anything. Bruce, can I talk to you real quick?”

“Sure, boss,” Happy answers.

…

“About Wanda being there yesterday-”

“It’s a private matter, Tony. If she decides to tell you, that’s her decision, but I won’t.”

“Okay.” Tony nods.

“What just happened?”

“Wanda was talking to Graceless in Ukrainian, Ross assumed she was ordering Graceless to attack him, which, she wasn’t, if you’re curious, and Wanda was offended at the implication she’d get a robot to attack someone if she thought they needed to be attacked instead of doing it herself.”

“Eh, I’ll give her this: Good for her,” he says. “Look, unless you need me to stick around, I’m going to go somewhere else, try not to come back until both her and Ross are completely gone for the day.”

“Probably a good idea. I’ll call you when it’s safe.”

“Thanks, Tony.”

…

For most of the weekend he manages to avoid both Ross and Maximoff, but of course, he ends up coming across them Monday when he’s going to get some yogurt from the kitchens.

He decides he’s definitely taking Tony’s advice to get a mini-fridge for his suite in the compound.

Seeing him, Ross scoffs. “I was explicitly told not to show up to my granddaughter’s birthday party last week or even send her a present.”

He shrugs. “What’s that have to do with me, Mr Secretary? She’s not my daughter. Her mother isn’t my wife.”

“Thank God for that much, at least,” Ross says.

Maximoff glares.

“Some days, the world hates me as much, if not more, than it has the two of you.” Ross’ laugh is bitter. “Look at us, now. Someday, you’ll both have as many regrets as I do.”

Before he can reply, Maximoff says, “Dr Banner already does. There’s a reason the world is more forgiving towards us. We try to change and be better. You’re the same man you’ve been for so long, only less powerful.”

Ross glances at him. “I can see how much he’s forgiven you and I both.”

She shrugs. “I ask for forgiveness from God and God alone. I understand that, if someone hates you, it’s either because of who you are or what you’ve done. I try my best to always change myself for the better, and even the bad things I can make up for, I can’t change the fact I did them. I’d rather have someone hate me for what I’ve done than want to hurt or imprison me for who I am, Mr Secretary.”

Shaking his head, Ross leaves.

…

He’s not sure why he ends up going to the gym.

Steve stops punching a bag. “Hey, Bruce.”

“Steve.”

Grabbing a bottle of green juice, Steve comes over. “Looking for me or just wandering around?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. Uh, Steve, I’ve always tried to stay out of things between you and Tony when it came to Sergeant Barnes, but- any chance I could ask you a personal question?”

Nodding, Steve sits, and motioning for him to follow suit, Steve says, “Sure, go ahead.”

He does. “I understand Sergeant Barnes wasn’t in control of his actions. I blame Hydra for everything he did, not him. That being said, Howard Stark, he was your friend, too, wasn’t he?”

A flash of pain crosses Steve’s face. “Yeah,” he softly says. “I loved Howard. He was a damn good friend. There’s so much I owe him, and coming out of the ice and hearing he was dead- I couldn’t bring myself to believe it, at first.”

“But Buck was more than just a childhood friend. From the time I was seven years old, he was family. And I know that James Buchanan Barnes, the Bucky I grew up with and served with, would have never willingly made the choice to kill Howard and especially not an innocent woman like Mrs Stark. He was gone, and what his body did, he had no say in it happening.”

Steve takes a deep breath. “None of that will bring Howard back, and I hate making the choice, but between getting justice for a dead man and protecting my alive best friend, I have to go with the latter. Tony has every right to hate Bucky, I know that, and he’d have every right to hate me, but I still have to do whatever I can to protect Bucky.”

“Fair enough.”

“Can I ask what this is about?”

He hesitates. “I’m guessing the same applies to Wanda? You care about her, and so, all those people in Johannesburg-” He can’t finish the sentence.

For a long minute, there’s complete silence.

Then, Steve carefully says, “I’ve never said what she did wasn’t wrong, Bruce.”

“But you do think it can be justified.”

Sighing, Steve gives him a sympathetic look. “I’ve never pushed you to forgive her, but for all you and I are friends, yes, I do care for her, Bruce.”

“I get that, Steve.”

“Part of it comes down to intent, and honestly, part of it comes down to me seeing a lot of me in her,” Steve quietly says. “Even if Johannesburg hadn’t happened, what she did to all of us was wrong. But I do believe that she had no idea that that would happen. I do believe she and Pietro went after you alone, in an isolated area, because, they believed that would be enough to make sure no innocent civilians were hurt.”

“Besides what happened to her parents, she wanted to protect her country. All that anger she had, I felt it, too, back in the 40s. I guess you could say, sometimes, I still do. We were the bullies in her eyes.”

“Thanks, Steve.” He stands.

…

“Your office and suite are ready for you to go back,” Tony says. “You sure we can’t see about finding you something closer for a little while?”

“No, but thanks, Tony.”

“Just make sure you take Graceless with you. The last time you left her here, she refused to come out of ball mode.”

They hug, and he goes to pack.

…

Outside, he sees Maximoff sitting in one of the garden swings.

“Hey, go ahead and take this to the car, okay? Thank you.”

Beeping, Graceless heads away with his suitcase and bags.

Going over, he sits on a nearby bench.

Her smile is tentative. “I think my body’s adjusting well to the birth control.”

“Good.” He takes a deep breath. “I don’t hate you anymore. I’m always going to hate what you did, and- you and I are never going to be friends or anything approaching close. But I don’t hate you.”

Her posture is suddenly ramrod straight, and though she’s often wary or diffident around him, she suddenly reminds him of Tony with how strangely vulnerable her face is.

“Not that I’m not grateful, but- what’s brought this on?”

Part of it is, he saw how resigned she was to the fact she’d always be hated, and- Some people are always going to hate them for both what they’ve done and simply who they are. There’s no getting around this fact.

However, the fact people have forgiven him, Tony, Barnes, and Romanov means more than any of them can ever say.

“Don’t bring this up to Tony, it’s a big point of contention between us, but I made the biggest mistake of my life when I experimented on myself. I’ve never denied my own complicity in Johannesburg happening. And I don’t know you enough to make the determination whether you really didn’t intend for it to happen or not.”

“Whatever the case, nothing is going to bring them or anyone else the other guy’s killed back. Nothing’s going to erase the pain he’s caused over the years.”

It happening also doesn’t change the fact that not only is she one of the few people qualified to take on extraordinary threats, so far, she’s been doing so. If she continues to, there will come a day they have to work together more closely than they did in Sokovia.

“And I’m tired of feeling this way,” he admits. “So much of my anger, I can’t get rid of, no matter how much I try. But in this instance, I can, and so, that’s what I’m doing.”

She’s visibly struggling with finding the right words to respond, and it turns out not hating her doesn’t give him much newfound patience or sympathy for her.

“Have a good day, Miss Maximoff.”

He leaves.

…

Epilogue

Thor’s Galaxy Guardian friends arrive with news of a new potential big threat, and he’s called into a meeting at the compound.

As soon as he gets near the briefing room, delicious smells invade his nose, and coming in, he sees Clint, Romanov, and Maximoff are making their way around the room with trays and plates.

He’s heard Maximoff has taken up baking (Tony has complained at length about how terrible her cheesecake is), but assuming she did all this, it strikes him as a little much.

Sitting down next to an obviously hungover Tony, he hears Steve ask, “Are these decorated oversized marshmallows?”

“Close,” she answers. “It’s zefir, a Russian delicacy.”

Steve carefully picks one up.

Grumbling, Tony heads over to the now dinging coffeemaker.

Seeing Peter is protecting one of the bots from Rocket and Groot, he’s about to get up when he hears a soft, “Dr Banner?”

Maximoff is holding out the plate of zefir.

Grabbing a napkin, he scoops up a few. “Thank you.”

Half-amused and half-uneasy at how quiet the room has suddenly got along with the fact people are glancing over and obviously trying to not outright stare, he takes a bite, and surprised at how delicious they are, he calls, “Hey, Tony, why don’t you finish your breakfast before you down another cup?”

Zombie-walking over and shooing Rocket and Groot in the process, Tony sits down. “So you know, I’m blaming you for everything today.”

“You’ll feel better once you finish your eggs. Want to try some zefir? It’s delicious.”


End file.
